Dark Wanderer (5x21 Dark AU, Stelena, One-post)
by Sarah August
Summary: Stefan and Elena reunite in 5x21, only to have a dark fate in store for them. Stelena.


Title: Dark Wanderer

Summary: What if Elena had decided to stay with Stefan in 5x21? Stelena reunion, but Stefan still dies.

Notes: Dark AU ending to 5x21. Stelena. One-post.

Author: Sarah August

* * *

"Hey, maybe all of this is a sign?" said Elena aloud.

They walked along together on the road, in the middle of no where, but Elena felt content somehow. The familiarity of Stefan's presence was always soothing. It was like walking in the warm sunlight of summer. It made you feel warm, all over. It made you feel free.

Even after all this time, after so many things going wrong for them, right to the end of their relationship, being with Stefan still felt... right.

Being with Damon had felt right in the beginning. More right than anything she had ever known in her entire life. Those feelings, intensified by the sire bond, had never went away when the sire bond ended. They still managed to sweep her away. It was why she had chosen to be with Damon before the summer. She had believed feeling like that would save them from all the bad that came with them being together. But it didn't. All the bad in the world came with loving Damon.

Loving Stefan hadn't been less complicated, but Elena had never once second guessed if they shouldn't be together. She had believed that Stefan was the only one for her with her entire heart. Nothing would have persuaded her other wise. Until the sire bond.

"Sign of what?" asked Stefan, and Elena came crashing back into the present with her thoughts.

"That maybe the universe is right. Maybe, Damon and I should just give up and never be together again... everything was so much easier..."

Stefan paused, a mask falling over his features. The same mask that Elena was starting to recognize as the one she was gifted with whenever she forgot herself and started going on about Damon to Stefan like Stefan wasn't once the love of her life, and maybe she should consider his feelings for once. It just hit her, and Elena stopped talking. How could she do this to him, over and over? Damon is Stefan's brother, and she was the love of his life, how could she expect Stefan to keep pretending that this was okay?

"What was easier?" Stefan asked softly, studying her expression.

"Everything was so much easier when I was with you, Stefan," Elena said in reply and Stefan just stopped moving. He grew visibly ridged.

This was dangerous, difficult, unspoken territory. The territory being where Stefan was put in the position of just grinning and baring it, and ignoring the fact that this hurt like hell to talk about. Even after everything, Stefan still felt something for her. It shocked her to see it, but it was there in his face. He still felt something for her, but he would go on playing the good friend role, even giving her relationship advice about his brother.

How the hell could she keep doing this to him? Her heart felt as if it had been ripped from her chest at the bitter realization that she had been so selfish with Stefan. Even after doing the worst thing she could do to him, he would stand and be her friend. He would truly do anything, be anything for her.

"Elena..." Stefan whispered, looking to the ground, his voice pained. "We can't... we can't talk like this..."

Elena nodded and looked away too. Right, they couldn't. Because of Damon. Damon still wanted to be with her, and that would always mean something to Stefan. But Elena was finding herself to no longer really care anymore about what Damon wanted. It was getting too hard.

And the travellers were hunting down herself and Stefan. There might not be anymore time left to tell Stefan she was regretting that choice, that impossible choice that was made, and tore her away from him. The one she had loved, the one who had made everything right just with a simple touch.

"No," Elena spat suddenly, angrily. "I don't care anymore about doing the right thing. I want what I want, Stefan. If that makes me the most selfish person in the universe, then I'll gladly be that, If I can take back the worst thing I ever did." Elena then grabbed Stefan by his jacket and crashed her lips to his.

Joy, passion, love consumed her, all at once, when Stefan began to return that kiss, and Elena literally felt swept away by time. All she could see was Stefan. All that mattered was Stefan and herself.

But then Stefan broke the kiss and cupped her face in his hands. "I meant what I said, Elena. I will always love you. But, I can't do this..."

He let her go and Elena pushed him with all her might. Stefan, sitting on the ground now, stared up at her in shock.

"You don't get to decide this, Stefan. It just happens, and it did. We met, we fell in love, we got older, grew apart, and then we just had that moment where we both realized that being apart is the biggest mistake that we ever made. You felt it, and you just said it. And I feel it more profoundly than I ever did before. This," Elena continued, helping him up and pulling him close. Her hands touched his and Stefan gasped at the feeling. The sensation of Elena touching him was like being physically drawn into sudden, complete happiness. It had always been this way. "Feels right, and you know it."

Stefan broke free of the contact, remembering just awhile ago that Elena had firmly still been set on working things out with Damon. Despite everything Damon had done, Elena had again been ready to look the other way if it meant she and Damon stayed together.

"What about Damon?" Stefan whispered softly. "You were hell bent on being with him again just hours ago. Now you want me again after months of endless nothing. After months of you pretending that what we had never existed, and all there was for you was Damon. I can't do this, Elena. I can't let myself believe that you really know what you want this time, only for you to decide in maybe a month, a year, that you made a mistake again, and you really want my brother..."

"But I don't want to be with Damon anymore..."cried Elena. "I did all of those things, Stefan. I admit it. I pretended that you were some faded memory for me. It was easier that way. I knew that I couldn't have you both. I had to choose either you or Damon, and I did. But then I became a vampire, and I did things that I could never take back. I became this horrible, selfish person. I betrayed you with Damon. I had to make a choice, and the only one that I could. Damon had fallen in love with me, and giving into that was easier than admitting to myself that I still wanted you. It felt wrong to still want you to love me after everything that I did. I choose Damon for every wrong reason possible. I admit that I did love Damon, but I would have never came to that decision, to choose him over you, if it weren't for that sire bond..."

"It was born from the real feelings that you had for Damon," Stefan cut her off, but she gave it right back to him.

"Yes,_ feelings_. I never could tell Damon that I loved him, I could never even speak the words Stefan, until the sire bond influenced those feelings. I would have never picked Damon, I would have never believed that I really loved him, until that happened. The sire bond ended, but those feelings it changed remained. It's why I decided that I had to stand by my choice. I really did believe then I had come to love Damon on my own despite the sire bond, but that isn't true. I loved Damon because of the sire bond. And I've tried so hard to make it alright. I've tried so hard to make my relationship with Damon work. But it doesn't work, Stefan. Damon and I, we... he's just not the one for me. And he never will be."

"But he loves you anyway, Elena. Don't you get that? If we were ever to go back... Damon, he wouldn't be able to handle it. He believes you picked him because you love him now, despite the sire bond, despite what we had. Damon has never had anything real like that before. And if he finds out that it's not real for you, that you picked him from some sense of really misplaced guilt, that you still believe that you're in love with me, it won't be something he can deal with, Elena. I can't do that to him," Stefan finished lastly, hoarsely.

Stefan turned away from her, staring down the road to no where.

"But what about you..." Elena spoke like a plea.

Stefan blinked. He'd been so used to having to think about Damon, about Elena's decision to be with his brother, and forcing himself to accept the fact that the one true love of his life was out of his reach, believing herself in love with his own brother, and seemingly forgetting every single moment they had once shared together. Now, she was here before him, trying to argue with him about that decision to be so accepting. Trying to make him remember that he too had feelings, that he had the right to want to be happy again. But at Damon's expense?

"I can't let myself think that way, Elena. When I do, I wake up to the reality that there's too many complications for me to be with the love of my life. That what we had, I can never have that again with you."

"Stefan, I'm right here. It's yours for the taking..."

Elena cupped his cheek. "I love you, let yourself love me back..."

"Elena..."

Elena kissed him again and Stefan gave in, unable to resist. He used his vampire speed to get away from her again upon hearing a vehicle in the distance. Elena felt her heart fall to the ground and she knew that she had lost any battle that had been going on here. Stefan would never purposely choose to hurt his brother. Even if it meant they could be together again if he did.

Damon appeared before her and tried to kiss her when she didn't reach for him. Elena backed away from him before he could and Damon knew immediately that something had changed again between them. The moment from their own fleeting kiss from before was now over. As was everything for them.

"Damon..." Elena began softly, trying to get her ex-boyfriend to understand. They had ended their relationship for a very good reason, and Stefan hadn't even been the reason why. Going back would be yet another mistake. And Elena was tired of making mistakes. "It's for the best, for the both of us. I will never stop caring for you, but this, us...we need to let it go."

"From love to care, within hours," Damon noted with bitterness. "I wonder what really changed your mind, huh?" Damon then shot a hateful look to his brother.

"I love her, Damon. I'm not walking away again," Stefan admitted, his voice hoarse, but firm.

And Stefan had walked away. He let Elena be with Damon in peace despite his own feelings, despite his own desires. He wasn't going to do that anymore. Not when she had finally decided that choosing Damon hadn't been the right decision for her to make. Elena wanted to be with him. That was all that mattered to Stefan now.

It was his turn to make the choice that was going to hurt his brother, for the sake of his own happiness, for his own peace. And that all surrounded one girl. No, woman. Elena. Stefan would not be without her again for no one.

"I'm sorry," Elena declared honestly to Damon. "You mean the world to me..." Elena whispered through tears.

"Little does that matter now," Damon replied, cutting her off. "One moment on a road with my brother, and the woman who loved me no longer loves me back."

"Don't even..." Stefan said, an edge to his voice. Reminding Damon that the shoe had once been on the other foot.

He had awakened one day to learn that his brother had stolen the love of his life away, and she was just gone. Elena had up and decided that she no longer wanted him anymore. That had hurt like hell to realize his brother had knowingly done that. Happily stepped in and take away the one thing that meant the world to him. The one thing he couldn't live without. Things had been complicated because of the sire bond, but Damon still proceeded with pursuing Elena even after it was clear that she wasn't her self. So, no, Stefan wasn't going to feel guilty for Elena and himself finally finding their way back to each other. Not when Damon shouldn't have interfered with their relationship to begin with.

Elena gave Stefan a look, indicating she had enough. Damon, on cue, left the scene alone. Elena let him go, not calling him back like she would have done before. She smiled sadly, watching Damon go.

"I really didn't mean to hurt him," Elena confessed to Stefan who embraced her. "I just can't keep going through this anymore. I can't be without you, Stefan."

It was music to Stefan's ears to hear Elena say that. "I know how you feel," Stefan whispered back, kissing the top of her hair. "I can't be without you, and I don't want to ever know what that's like again."

Tyler suddenly appeared out of no where, interrupting their private moment. Elena suddenly felt like they were in the presence of something bad about to happen. She clutched onto Stefan's arm to hold him back. Something wasn't right here.

Before Elena could react to anything, she heard herself screaming. It was as if she was having a dream where she was awake. One she had no control over. As Stefan fell to the ground, she collapsed with him, still holding onto his arm, fighting to hold his hand. Her head struck the pavement as his did and Elena swore she was feeling the life drain away from her body as she watched the scene play out before her.

Her horrified eyes connected with her love's and Stefan smiled at her for the last, final time. His face was completely at peace as he died, while looking into her eyes and seeing nothing in the world but for her. When Elena realized the last piece of life was gone from Stefan, she felt that final piece of hope she carried in her heart fade into nothingness. She then reached out, tears falling, across the cold ground and touched her beloved's face.

"It was always you," Elena told him brokenly.

Elena moved enough to kiss his lifeless lips one last time. She then fought to stand up, a darkness rising with her. The last thing she had left and it was gone. Her will had died with her beloved. Her hope had died with him. All that was left was this. And she would avenge him. She would avenge them both.

A large tree branch stood out to Elena on a near by patch of grass. In a lifeless daze, she broke it in half without thinking and took a large piece in her grasp as she slowly made her way back, looking for Julian. She would hunt him until he was dead as she.


End file.
